The Return of Hope
by IHeartStories
Summary: "In a time of war and persecution, two star-croseed lovers will battle the forces of good and evil, traverse the cold depths of space and time, and fight against fate itself to be together." Cherik in space! Once known as "Far Longer Than Forever"
1. Chapter 1

**Far Longer Than Forever**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except for the ones that I had created and this plot.

**A/N:** Hello there, this is my brand new story and before I go off, I would dearly like to say thank you to my dearest friend and beta reader, **ICANHEARTHEDRUMS!** If it weren't for her help I most likely wouldn't have a summary by now. So an around applause is in order. I love stories based in space and I felt like writing one. I also adore Cherik so much that I thought what a great idea. Lets chuck in a bit of a space opera with the added spice of Cherik. I won't go spoiling you what the story is about, but I will say that writing an emotional Charles is really fun. That is all I have to say folks.

**Summary:** "In a time of war and persecution, two star-crossed lovers will battle the forces of good and evil, traverse the cold depths of space and time, and fight against fate itself to be together."

**Chapter 1:**

Star Commander Charles Francis Xavier, third in command to (supposedly) one of the finest ships in the fleet, was tired, both emotionally and physically.

Star Commander Charles Francis Xavier had a headache from the raucous soundtrack of voices all vying for attention in his head.

Star Commander Charles Francis Xavier was currently walking down the hallway of an unknown enemy ship, emotionally and physically tired, and with a headache that was quickly turning into a migraine.

Oh, that headache definitely became a migraine, now that some asshole has just slammed Star Commander Charles Francis Xavier into the bulkhead.

_10 minutes before_

"Charles, go on ahead as scout. Contact us once you've got any new developments."

With a salute and a hearty (sarcastic, if you knew Charles well enough) "Aye aye, sir!", Charles was beamed off of the Caspartina and onto the unknown enemy ship that has just breached Republic territory.

Charles groaned, slapping a hand to his head as the onslaught of voices bombarded his mind. It was the first time in months that Captain of the Caspartina Sebastian 'Asswipe' Shaw allowed Charles' telepathic inhibitor collar to be taken off. After living in silence for so long, it would definitely take a few minutes for Charles to get his mental shields back up and for him to be functional again.

How did Charles' life come to this; being the proverbial canary for Shaw?

What happened to that bright-eyed Star Cadet that everyone had such high hopes for? Charles could tell you what happened. He fell in love with Erik Lehnsherr was what happened. He fell in love with the only person in this whole damn galaxy that was capable of standing alongside Charles, through thick and thin; his equal.

Thirteen years ago, before all of this Intergalactic Republic mess, before the Mutant Registration Act that lowered mutants to a level as low as the crud on the bottom of your shoe, before the two most important people were ripped away from Charles Xavier's life...

Before all of that, Charles Xavier was happy. He had the love of his life, he was on the fast track to a promising career as a Professor, his sister was embracing her mutation (mutant and proud, she'd always say), everything was PERFECT!

But of course, just like everything else in Charles' life, he was given a taste of true bliss and then it was ripped violently away from him, heedless of just how hard he scrambled to hold on to it.

Erik died.

Raven died.

His mother, stricken with grief over the loss of her beautiful adopted daughter, committed suicide.

Though Sharon Xavier had been living out of a whiskey bottle ever since Charles' father's death, it took the loss of her favorite child to really bring her over the edge. Despite having a biological son of her own, Sharon couldn't find herself caring for the son as much as she did the little girl that Charles had taken in.

No...Sharon couldn't even stand to look at the child that held the face of her beloved Brian. So Sharon placed all of her love into Raven instead. Even when the girl came out as a mutant, there was no love lost between mother and adopted daughter. Even when Kurt Marko did his best to sabotage the relationship, the maternal bond was just too strong.

So when Raven Xavier died, Sharon Xavier went with her.

For an eighteen year old to lose the two most important people of his life, and then his very own mother, all within the span of a few days, devastating was definitely an understatement for what Charles felt.

Charles crawled into that spot in the bottle that his mother had left vacant, attempting to drown his sorrows and memories in that firewater. It was truly a miracle that he did not take a gun to his own head, so that he may join his loved ones in the afterlife.

With each drunken hazed night, with each sip from the whiskey bottle, with each blasted memory that replayed in Charles' mind, a new cold wall was built around Charles Xavier's heart.

Hope...love...those were for naïve children. Instead, he was filled with bitterness and rage. Death would have seemed a better alternative, but something kept Charles breathing, kept his cold heart beating, kept his feet moving step by painful step.

And then, three years later, the physical world as Charles knew it started to crumble under his feet. The Intergalactic Republic, once known as an honorable and righteous institution, became the bane of the mutant world's existence.

The Mutant Registration Act was passed into law. This soon led to the exploitation of the law-abiding, tax-paying mutant citizens, all because they were born with an X-Gene.

While the majority of the mutants were able to scatter and hide around the galaxy, Charles Xavier was not one of them. Sebastian Shaw set his sights on the lonely boy, and chained Charles to him. Star Commander, Charles may be, but he was not immune to the harsh discrimination that mutants faced everyday ever since that law was passed ten years ago.

Like a prized pet, Shaw placed a telepathic collar to inhibit Charles' powers, chaining him to his side as third in command to his ship. And like all of the other mutants that did not have the fortune of escaping the clutches of the Republic, Charles' powers were exploited, used as a tool or weapon depending on how the leash-holders saw fit.

And just like that, the spark that had burned so brightly, like a supernova, in eighteen year old Charles Xavier was extinguished. It left nothing behind but ashes, bitterness, and rage. He heard how the others snickered about his powers, about how he was only as useful as a trained guard dog.

Charles Xavier was the most powerful telepath on this side of the galaxy. He could turn the whole crew's minds into mush with one single thought.

And yet they laugh at him...they laugh when they should rightly fear him.

Charles massaged his forehead, willing the voices to quiet down. He opened his eyes, and took in the brightly lit hallway. He groaned and slammed his eyes shut again.

SO MANY VOICES! Damn Shaw for collaring him for so long, and then expected him to be able to recover in seconds...all while on a bloody enemy _ship!_

He opened his eyes, and blinked the black spots away from his vision. The tentative mental shields Charles placed around his mind would have to do until he had time to build up stronger ones, brick by mental brick.

He pushed himself off of the bulkhead he had been leaning on. He peeked around one corner, and, when he saw that no one was there, proceeded down that hallway, looking for a tiny alcove where he could stay in undetected and scan the minds around him.

He didn't go two steps before he felt a presence approaching at top speed. Charles didn't have time to hide, his earlier disorientation slowing his reflexes and thoughts. The massive body slammed into his, tackling Charles to the ground.

The air in his lungs left with an "OOF" as the heavy body landed on top of him. He reached his hand up to get his fingers to his temple, but the attacker's beefy hand grabbed on to Charles' wrist in a bruising grip.

Charles could have sworn he heard a creak in his bones. Before Charles could dole out a mental whammy on to his attacker, the man grabbed Charles by the neck, hauled him up by his wrist and throat, and slammed the telepath into the wall.

Charles almost passed out from the lack of oxygen. It was a wonder he was still able to comprehend what he was seeing.

His attacker was in his mid-40's it seemed. Weird spiky haircut, rugged sideburns. He was not the tallest man in the world, but what he lacked in height, he made up for in brute strength. The guy was built like a brick shithouse! If Charles wasn't so busy trying to breathe, he wouldn't mind ogling that body a bit more.

Then again, he probably wouldn't have. Ever since Erik died, Charles could never find interest in any other man or woman. How could he? Erik was the only person that understood him, looked at him as if he actually saw Charles for who he was, laughed with him, shared his hopes and dream with him...No, no one could replace Erik.

"You picked the wrong ship to board, bub." The man's throaty deep tones were just as menacing as the man himself.

Charles could almost laugh. Even with the lack of oxygen, and the hand around his neck, did this man really think that Charles would be frightened of him? No...Charles wasn't frightened of him.

Charles wasn't even scared of Death himself. Hell, he'd probably welcome the reaper with open arms and a loud how d'ya do?!

"It was never my intention to board your ship, good sir." Charles gritted out with a devilish smirk. "If you have a problem with my being here, please direct your complaints to my esteemed captain. We appreciate your business, and will address your concerns in a timely manner."

The brick shithouse actually laughed. The hold on Charles' throat lessened, and he was given enough time to rummage through the attacker's mind for pertinent information.

"I wasn't aware any sons of bitches who served in the fucking Republic would have a sense of humor."

"I'm sorry to hear you say that. Us sons of bitches have tons of humor, actually. Would you like to hear a joke...Logan."

Logan growled, tightening his grip again. Oh, there goes that oxygen again.

"How do you know my name?!" Logan growled into Charles' face.

"LOGAN!" A voice boomed from down the hallway.

Two pairs of eyes, one bloodshot and the other one feral, swiveled to the newcomer's direction. Any other person would have shat themselves at the sight of the humongous blue-furred beast walking towards them.

Instead, Charles found that he was hit with a sense of overwhelming familiarity instead. The mental impact was the equivalent of a train slamming into Charles' mind.

He didn't realize he was starting to hyperventilate until his vision started to black out, and the hand on his throat was removed. His knees buckled, and the floor rushed up to meet him.

The last thing that went through Charles' mind was that Shaw was going to make him suffer. Because once Shaw finds out that Charles didn't inform him immediately, he'll be punished.

Charles has just found a ship completely crewed by mutants.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I would very much like to say thank you to each and every one of you, especially my dear beta reader, who had helped me to make this chapter so much more angst than I originally did. Next chapter will be full of plenty of angst and fluff, a mixture of both will be good, yes? I look forward to hear what you think. I hope that you'll have a splendid day/evening/night.**

**~ Chapter 2 ~**

"Magneto."

Erik looked up from his desk to see the door swish closed behind Raven. The woman's presence never failed to leave the man feeling as if there were a thousand pins pricking his heart. Though the woman held no physical similarities to her beloved older brother, just the sight of her left Erik feeling as if he was incomplete. Erik Lehnsherr had to spend thirteen years learning to live, day by day, without the other half of his soul in his life, and the sight of the woman never failed to reinforce that fact every time.

Erik was just eighteen when he first met sixteen year old Charles Xavier. While they'd known each other through reputation alone for their whole lives, their families have known each other for centuries more. The bad blood that ran between the two bloodlines was infamous, and so the two fated lovers were raised to hate each other when the time came that they finally met.

And, to their families' horror, that day was the most wonderful day of Erik's life.

The day that Erik met Charles Xavier, was also the same day that the young Xavier boy had joined Erik and Sebastian's class at the Academy.

Sebastian had a nasty habit of bullying those he deemed inferior to him, most likely to compensate for the fact that he was the oldest in the class because he had failed it so many times and was forced to repeat it.

And when Charles Xavier, one of the youngest in the Academy, joined Erik and Sebastian's class, the young boy was immediately picked up as fodder for Sebastian's merciless bullying.

But if Xavier's beauty didn't stun Erik already, then the rebuttal to Sebastian's bullying was. Not only was Sebastian's teasing of Charles and the other students stopped the moment Charles stood up to the man, Sebastian was left speechless for the next hour or so, fuming on the smart remark that Charles had thrown back at him.

Thinking back on it now, Erik would probably have to say that was the very moment he fell in love with Charles Xavier. Charles Francis Xavier...his family's worst enemy.

Despite their families' feud, Charles and Erik became inseparable. Anywhere Charles went, Erik was there too. No matter how mundane their activities were, whether it be folding laundry or picking up take-out, the company of the Xavier boy made it seem as if it was the most entertaining activity in the galaxy.

Their bond went beyond infatuation...went beyond love. It was as if their very souls were intertwined in a way that surpassed the limitations of time and space, just so they could end up in each other's arms at that very moment.

Raven, the confident and proud woman who was currently blabbing on about something or other in front of his desk, was the same exact girl that had followed around her older brother like a shadow. Raven Xavier, the same overprotective girl that had tried to keep her brother from making the worst decision of his life by attempting to sabotage Erik and Charles' relationship.

There were many times that Erik and Raven had literally ended up screaming at each other. There was certainly no love lost between the two whenever those occasions occurred, but they tried to keep the fighting down to a minimum as it usually created a great deal of stress in their beloved Charles.

It was a wonder their families didn't forcefully pull them apart when they found out. Erik couldn't help but let out a soft laugh as he was reminded of the astounded, slack-jawed, wide-eyed looks on all of their faces when Erik and Charles had shown up hand in hand.

It wasn't long after that, that the world as Erik knew it came crashing down. Three years...three wonderful, amazing, laugh-filled years of bliss. Three years was all it took for Charles' very essence to seep into Erik's every pore. Three years was all it took for Erik to wake up thinking of blue eyes, and go to sleep dreaming of floppy brown hair and red lips. Three years was all it took for Erik to be completely destroyed when Charles was taken away from him.

"You're thinking about Shaw, aren't you?" Mystique asked, once she finally got him to pay attention to her for more than a second.

She was partially right. Shaw... Sebastian Shaw... once Erik's close friend, now the bane of the mutant world's existence. It was through that despicable bastard's insidious actions that had the Intergalactic Republic become such a powerful organization. They sent out countless men to capture mutants...not kill, capture. Because if those mutants were dead, how would they be of any use, right?

It had been a beautiful day, though it should have been raining and storming so that it fit the devastation that day would bring for Lehnsherr. Charles was waiting for him in their usual spot. Erik had practically bounced his way over there, just the thought of seeing his young lover lifting his heart and soul.

He didn't sense them because they didn't have metal. He didn't see them because they were trained to be invisible until they struck. The Republic's Special Forces were prepared for him. He didn't even have to time to react, just tried to fight his way through them as best he could.

The only thought that ran through his head was to get as far away from Charles as possible, lead the Spec Ops agents away from the telepath, lest the Republic's men go for Charles too.

There were so many mutants that were captured. Thousands, from what Erik saw in the hidden facility he was thrown into. It was only because of the location and time of his capture that Erik was able to bump into Raven at the facility. Though the two of them had searched high and low, asking every person they met about Charles' location or status, they couldn't find a single scrap of information on him.

There were reports that many mutants had been killed in their attempts to resist, and many had even committed suicide just so they wouldn't be caught. It took years for Raven to finally let herself believe that Charles was dead. It took even longer for Erik.

Though Erik and Raven considered each other enemies from the start, they clung to each other's presence after everything went to Hell. To Raven, Erik was the last person that had spoken with Charles, laughed with him, hugged him, kissed him.

To Erik, Raven was memories of Charles as the man defended him to his family, memories of Charles with Raven hooked on his arm as they walked side by side down the road, memories of a man that Erik considered to be the other half of his whole. The two of them were the last connection to their beloved Charles that they had, and they would protect each other til the end because of that.

Not for the first time, Erik sent off a telepathic message to Charles in his head; a message that Erik knew would never reach Charles. _You should see Raven now, my love. She has turned into a strong and confident woman. You would be so proud of her._

"Have there been evidence of any other Republic's men on board?"

Raven shook her head, placing a hand on his desk. "Logan found the only one it seems."

"What about the Caspartina?"

"No sighting. They left their scout behind. Either they were confident he was able to take care of himself, or they just thought it would be a convenient way to get rid of him."

Erik gritted his teeth. How he ever had been friends with Shaw, Erik still didn't know. But the man wasn't as evil back when they were in the Academy together. How could the magnokinetic know that Shaw would be the very person that would turn against mutants like that.

His hands fisted where they lay on top of his desk. They were so close to stopping Shaw. Once they could get their hands on Shaw's telepath, they could bring that bastard down. And with Shaw's defeat, the Republic would go down that very same path.

"If the Caspartina's reputation for speed is true, they'll catch up to us whether we like it or not."

Erik sighed. There was a chime at his door, signaling that he had a visitor. "Come!"

The door swished open and a bundle of excited blue fur careened in. Beast's eyes were wide, and he was breathing so fast Erik realized he must have run all the way up here from the lower levels.

The male mutant didn't even bother to stand at attention or salute his captain before launching into a ramble of words. "You guys are not going to believe this! You'll have to see it, you won't believe me if I told you."

Raven smiled at the man's excited words. Whatever it was, the man was overjoyed and...apprehensive?

Erik stood up to his full height. "Hank...calm down!"

The blue furred mutant stopped in mid-sentence, something about Shaw's man being somebody we didn't think he would ever be.

"What happened, Hank?"

Beast's chest rose and fell quickly as he stared at the two people in front of him. It was then that the realization, of just how big an impact his news would be on these two, dampened the mutant's excitement considerably.

Raven, Charles' sister, and Erik, Charles' lover, stared at him as they waited for him to tell them just what made him run all the way up here from the hold.

"Uhh...actually, you guys might want to sit down when I tell you this."

Raven blinked, but made no move to sit. "Hank, what is it?"

"Look, I'm going to tell you, but it is _imperative_ that you stay calm afterwards."

Erik and Raven shared a look before turning their glares on the blue fur-ball. "Tell us!" They growled in unison.

Hank shrunk a little under the combined weight of their stares. "Okay...so the prisoner we are holding. It's – "

Logan's voice cut in at the most inopportune moment. "Logan to McCoy, the telepath's stirring."

Raven and Erik's eyes widened. "WHAT?! The captured Republic is Shaw's telepath!?" Erik snarled, already moving around his desk and crossing the room.

Hank blocked Erik's exit, tapping his comm. "Yeah Logan, I'll be right down. Just make sure he stays calm."

"Yeah whatever, bub." Came Logan's gruff reply before the comm's connection disconnected.

Erik was breathing hard, giving Hank his best _move-the-hell-out-of-the-way-or-I'll-make-you _glare.

Hank, to his credit, didn't even bat an eye. "Yes, we caught Shaw's telepath. But I think that the – identity - of the telepath is the biggest issue."

Erik's eyes narrowed, and Raven stepped up next to her captain, danger in her very posture.

They all knew that there would only be _one_ telepath in the entire galaxy that would drive Hank to face them both down, just so they would be calm and level-headed in their thinking. And if Hank was joking, he'd send a metal rod through his skull for daring to do something so cruel as to use Charles as the subject of a joke.

Erik's voice was silky and soft, which meant that he was on the very verge of committing murder if Hank didn't explain himself.

"Be very careful what you say next, Hank. If this is all a sick pretense for you and Logan, then I'll have you know that Charles is the one person I would never tolerate being the subject as a joke."

Again, Hank stood his ground. "Erik, the person we have in our hold right now...is Charles Xavier."

Before Hank could even enunciate the 'X' in Xavier, Erik and Raven had pushed past the furry mutant and were all but running to the lifts.

"Wait!" Hank yelled after them, running to catch up. "I TOLD YOU BE CALM!"

Hank rushed in behind the two right as the lift doors swished closed. Raven impatiently jammed a finger into the button for the lower levels repeatedly, as if that would make the lift go faster. "_You _be calm after finding out the most important person in your life is alive and not dead like you'd believed for over a decade!" Raven snarled as she stared up at the ceiling, willing the lift to go faster.

There was a jolt that sent Raven and Hank stumbling, but Erik stayed as still as a statue. He had magnetized himself to the floor and was pushing the lift down faster than the mechanism's usual speed.

He didn't care that the machine was whirring in protest at his manipulations. He didn't care that Raven and Hank had almost broken their noses on the floor when the lift jolted violently.

All he cared about was Charles. Charles! Charles!

Charles was alive!

A decade of mourning the loss of his love, and even longer searching futilely for any clue of him. The logical side of Erik had told him that Charles was most likely dead. But his heart had told him that Charles can't be dead...he just _can't_ be. Because, if the other half of his soul was dead, surely Erik would feel _something_?! The world would become darker and grayer to him, wouldn't it? He wouldn't be able to live on so well if a part of him had died, right?

Erik was distantly aware of Hank telling him something about Shaw and telepaths...why the hell was Hank trying to ruin the moment with talk of Shaw?! The door swished open at their floor. His mind was a raging fire that burned with knowledge that, only a few feet away and through that door, was the love of his life, alive and well.

His feet carried him to the door in rapid steps, but as he got closer, his pace slowed significantly. Erik's heart pounded in his chest, and his breathing had become harsh and ragged. Charles...Charles was behind this door.

Raven pressed a gentle hand on his arm, and the two mutants' eyes met for a second. There was a wide smile on her face. She was taking the news a lot better than he was apparently. The look was enough to reassure them both, and calm them enough for Erik to realize that the pressure gripping his chest and making it hard to breathe was...happiness. Elation. Joy. Disbelief. Hope. Love!

He reached out a hand to press in his code on the keypad.

The door opened, and Raven and Erik stepped in.

* * *

><p>Charles groaned as light assaulted his eyes. He clenched them shut instinctively. Once he was sure his vision had adjusted to the brightness, he slowly opened them again. His whole body ached, especially his neck; the flesh around his throat felt sore.<p>

What happened?!

A gruff voice interrupted Charles' musings. "Logan to McCoy, the telepath's stirring."

Ahhh yes, scouting out the rogue ship. Then the collar's removal, which explains why his head was pounding so hard. And then the brick shithouse that had done his very best to pop Charles' head like a balloon by cutting off his air supply, which explains the pain in his neck.

Said brick shithouse was currently communicating with some tiny bodiless voice. The name McCoy sounded familiar, though.

Charles jabbed an elbow onto the cold floor and heaved himself to a sitting position on the floor. Honestly! You would think they would at least provide a dingy mattress on the floor for a prisoner. Then again, after spending most of his days in and out of a cell, he was used to this type of treatment.

Damn Shaw! He'd have his hide for 1. being captured and 2. not telling him immediately that these were all mutants in this ship.

Not for the first time, Charles found himself wishing for the days where his biggest worry was what to wear during his date with Erik. But those days were long gone. Gone, because Charles was too stupid to not see through Shaw's sugarcoated words. Gone, because he wasn't strong enough to fight the Republic himself.

Charles ran a weary hand through his hair as the negative memories resurfaced.

When Erik and Raven had disappeared, Shaw came to him, promising vengeance for their deaths. Charles had been devastated, and Shaw sank his claws into that weakness. Charles had followed him, blind to all but the anger and rage coursing through him at the injustice done to his loved ones and mutant-kind.

But Shaw had lied. He had no intention of finding the killers, because he was the one responsible for their deaths in the first place. He was the reason why mutants had to live like rats, and were used and treated as nothing more than an attack dog on a leash.

The telepath had never trusted or liked Shaw, which was a truly remarkable thing seeing as how Charles saw into the very heart and soul of a person and could sympathize with even the cold hearted killer.

But with Shaw, there was nothing there that Charles could sympathize with. It was dead and twisted inside that man's mind. More than once, Charles had shared these thoughts with Erik. He couldn't understand what Erik saw in Shaw that would draw them together as friends.

But even with these warnings, Shaw turned on Erik. Shaw turned on them all. And once he had Charles in his clutches, he turned on him too. The collar was placed on him, blocking Charles' mutation, and he became more or less Shaw's property. He was no longer Charles Xavier, he wasn't of enough value to have a name anymore.

No, he was just Shaw's telepath now. That's all he was; Shaw's telepath.

Charles sighed, forcing his mind to go back to the current situation. He could feel the eyes of that man – Logan – staring at him from the other side of the tiny window. His telepathy was less to nothing in this room. Something was blocking his powers, and without the use of a collar surprisingly.

Irritation built up in his chest, tightening his throat and raising his blood pressure minutely. He swung his eyes over to the man, who was leaning heavily on the wall next to him with his arms crossed casually and his beady little eyes staring right back at Charles.

Like Hell was he going to stay on the floor while this guy watches him, most likely judging him at this very moment.

He placed two palms down on the cold floor and pushed himself up. His eyes never left the burly man in front of him.

And once Charles was standing on his own two feet, he straightened up with his head held high and his shoulders thrown back to affect an air of authority – well, as much authority as a prisoner could have in their cell.

"You like what you see? Why don't you take a picture, it'd last longer." Charles quipped, narrowing his eyes at the man.

Logan smirked. "No need. You're not going anywhere anytime soon. If I wanted to stare at you some more, all I'd have to do is come down to this cell."

Charles scoffed but said nothing, choosing instead to inspect his surroundings. He circled the small room, running his hand over the walls.

"No use, bub. This cell was built by our captain and McCoy. You met him already. The room somehow taps into the X-gene, and renders it dormant."

Charles' eyebrows shot up to his hairline. The scientist in him perked up immediately. "Spectacular! How long – "

Charles cut himself off.

He was not a scientist – not anymore. He was a prisoner! He was chatting with his captor, for God's sakes! Like Hell was he going to have a damned conversation about the technology that was imprisoning him!

Logan snorted as if _he_ was the telepath and had just read the boy's mind.

Charles went back to his examinations. He was poking his finger into a suspicious looking crack in the wall when the door swished open behind him. He refrained from whirling around like a frightened animal in captivity. As much as the rest of the world considered Charles to be Shaw's pet attack dog, the telepath still had enough pride in himself to act like a civilized human being because that's what he was _Goddamn it!_

Ok, two seconds should be good enough to show them that he was in control of his senses. Charles made to turn around, but the reverent whisper of his name from two VERY familiar voices froze his body.

"Charles." The name was breathed out in unison. It was a prayer for him to turn; a name spoken with such joy and disbelief.

Raven... Erik... They were alive. They were alive and well this whole time. They were alive and well and together and didn't care about Charles enough to even try to find him or help him this whole time while he suffered in Hell!

Charles stared at the crack in the wall as his mind raced with nostalgia and longing and … and … _RAGE!_

_How dare they... _

_HOW DARE THEY BE ALIVE!? HOW DARE THEY!?_


End file.
